I’m a lucky participant ofChewy.com‘s Blogger Outreach Program, meaning I get to try out a lot of different pet products in exchange for my honest reviews. The following review are the thoughts and opinions of yourstruly, and no way am I paid to endorse the following product.

For this month’s review, Chewy.com was so gracious to send me a bag of Merrick Backcountry Wild Prairie Real Chicken Sausage Cuts Dog Treats for me to test out. Aside from the name of these treats being a complete mouthful to say (I’m sure there’s a pun somewhere along there), all I have to say is yum, yum, yum about these treats. Or at least I’d imagine them to be because they look and smell absolutely delicious! I was tempted to try one of them until I saw the “Not for human consumption” part on the back of the bag (insert *sad face* here). Seriously though, these dogs I get to work with are so spoiled. They only get the best treats from me, and even my clients end up wondering what I use because their dogs go nuts for them.

Anyway, so to give you an idea of what these treats look like, here are a couple of images that I took of the packaging and the treats themselves (they’re about the size of the hole in a roll of tape). If you didn’t know better, you’d think these are something that you could buy at a store and eat them for a snack.

During any given session, I can easily use 2-3 different types of treats to keep dogs motivated; however, once I introduced these treats, there is no going back. Zuke’s and Blue Buffalo treats were completely disregarded (and need I say most, if not all, dogs LOVE these). I tested out these Merrick’s treats on a couple of foster dogs actually, and if there’s anything that anyone knows about working with rescue dogs is that they tend to be nervous and refuse to eat anything. The fact that I got Sunshine and Brennan to take these treats from me speaks volume about the quality itself! Highly recommend!

I’ve never been a fan of the super-posey types of photos because to me, while it captures that instant, it doesn’t necessarily capture the mood and feelings of that moment. I love the unscripted, and simply letting a moment unfurl.

When setting up the session for Dallas, Lindsey mentioned that she would have to give him a bath before the session. I suggested that it might be sweet to document that, especially knowing that Dallas would be crossing over the Rainbow Bridge soon. Sometimes it’s the little things that you share with your pet that mean the most, and I’m glad that she agreed.

Dallas’ back legs weren’t working that great by that time, but he definitely did not let that stop him from getting around, or generally being the happiest goof ever. Obsessed with tennis balls, he just wanted to play, play, play the entire time, so at times, we had to hide it. Affectionate, joyful, and eager to please, I can see why his family loved and miss him so much.

Lindsey, thank you for being open to the idea of letting me document moments that others would be hesitant to show. I hope these photos of Dallas bring you much comfort and joy over the years. <3